Lady Deborah Berewa outpatient Hospital Lakka, SL

On behalf of Greatest Goal Ministries I want to thank all of you for your continued support of our work in Sierra Leone over the past couple years. I am so pleased to announce that together, we were able to raise over 15,000 USD. With those funds we provided much needed medical care for literally, tens of thousands of disabled and underserved people in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Although the goal we started when we posted our project on GlobalGiving has been reached we are not done. GGM has decided to attempt once again to raise 15,000 for our new facility and the villagers we are serving.

The Greatest Goal Ministries facility moved in late 2012 to the Lady Deborah Berewa Hospital (LDBH) in Lakka Village in the Western Rural District just outside the capital of Freetown and we are providing medical care to an area of the country that has had no access. The hospital is providing the only laboratory diagnostics and has the only quality pharmacy in the area. With our new generator installed in early January, 2014 we can begin to set up recently shipped laboratory equipment, ultrasound and EKG machine.

December 3-18, 2013 an 8 member medical team arrived at the LDBH. Included in the team were nurses, a radiation oncologist, a cardiologist and an ARNP. The cardiologist has decided to make additional visits and will begin training the staff regarding use of the EKG machine. In the absence of international medical teams our outpatient facility is operated by 22 staff members all involved in various aspects of the facility. From our Community Health Officer, nurse, pharmacy assistant, lab tech and registrar we have security, a phlebotomist, cleaning staff and hospital chaplains. It is a very busy place open 5 days a week.

We hope that our donors will continue to fund our new facility as we continue to provide quality, outpatient medical care to Lakka Village and beyond. Sierra Leone is in dire need of facilities that can provide care for malaria, cholera, sexually transmitted diseases, skin infections, diabetes, hypertension and other diseases. When the patient’s condition is beyond the scope of our local staff a designated fund is used to transport the patient to another facility. Often GGM then covers all additional costs including necessary surgeries if funds are available.

The people we are able to assist are so grateful. They know that they have no other place like this to receive medical care. Without the LDBH many would die. We thank you in advance for your continued support. The 7,850 individuals we treated in 2013 thank you for your support. Thank you for helping us reach our new goal of 15,000.00 USD for the Lady Deborah Berewa (outpatient) Hospital.

In December of 2012 GGM opened the doors of our free outpatient hospital in Lakka, the Western rural area of Freetown, Sierra Leone.Since January of 2013 a total of 5,916 patients have been evaluated and treated.Of the 5,916, 3,357 were over 5 years of age with 1,559 age five years or younger

As we do not yet have power most of our laboratory diagnosis is from microscope gram stain analysis or rapid test kits.Funds raised on this site help cover the costs of diagnosis and treatment.

Of the 4,090 patients seen from April 2013 through September, 2013, 1,537 patients were diagnosed with malaria, a disease that is endemic in Sierra Leone.Each of those patients is treated with Lonart (malaria medicine), vitamins, paracetamol (generic Tylenol) for fever and iron tablets.

Between April 2013 and September 2013 our hospital diagnosed and treated 8 cholera cases, 4 typhoid cases and 112 venereal infections.Each of these patients are treated with antibiotics and when needed IV fluids.

As the International Director of Greatest Goal Ministries (GGM), I just returned from an 8 week visit to our out-patient hospital, the Lady Deborah Berewa Hospital (LDBH) located in Laka, Western Rural District of Sierra Leone.

Traveling with me for almost 3 weeks was a 10 member team. Goals for the team surrounding this trip included the following:

2)Introduction of a nonprofit organization called iRespond who were interested in discussing with the government of Sierra Leone several technological and biometric initiatives in partnership with Greatest Goal Ministries and the Ministry of Health.

3)One team member was a film student from a local college who documented our activities. Her new documentary will be finished before the end of the summer and we look forward to sharing that with all of our donors.

4)Arrival of a fourth cruise ship to Sierra Leone that toured our facility and then watched an exhibition match of the polio playing the amputees. Guest appearances from the former vice-president of Sierra Leone, Solomon Berewa, the First Lady of Sierra Leone and the Deputy Minister of sports made for an eventful day for guests and staff alike.

The remainder of the time was spent in meetings with government officials and Ministry of Health personnel. The First Lady of Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Sia Koroma, has asked GGM to act in the capacity of technical pilots in moving forward on a five year plan for a cancer center and cancer program in Sierra Leone. I was called to the State House to meet with the President, His Excellency Ernest Koroma, and present the 5 year initial timeline to him and receive his endorsement. This was granted by the President to move forward with the program. I was introduced to the US Ambassador and shared with him the cancer program vision.

From there, with help from the First Lady and her policy advisor, Sam Bangura, meetings were held with the Minister of Health and various Sierra Leone medical staff. A cancer committee has now been formed in Sierra Leone with Dr. Deen, a Sierra Leone physician, named as project manager. A SL cancer advisor committee is currently being formed in the USA to work with the SL cancer committee as plans move forward.

A cancer registry that was started in June 2012 with a small amount of funding from the WHO has now developed targets and direction with a culminating stakeholders conference scheduled in December 2013 with various US physicians speaking.

In addition to those meetings, time was spent at our new outpatient hospital. Our office in central Freetown has been moved to office space at our hospital and our first quarterly reports have been compiled. As an outpatient hospital we operate with a small laboratory and pharmacy. We believe we are the only outpatient facility that can offer both those services in all of Sierra Leone. And most importantly, other than a small registration fee of 1.00 USD or 4,000 le, the visit is free. We have over 50 patients being treated regularly for diabetes and hypertension. Our staff is all Sierra Leonean with the exception of our Laboratory Director and Operations Supervisor, Jerry Staples, an American and former director of a laboratory in a 350 bed hospital outside of Seattle, WA. He has been living in Sierra Leone full time for the past two years. Out of our 16 Sierra Leonean staff, 2 are polio victims, 2 are deaf and 1 is an amputee.

The new GGM Lady Deborah Berewa Hospital in Lakka opened the doors in December of 2012. Currentlyoperating as a free outpatient clinic the hospital has been seeing an average of 40 patients a day.

GGM is continuing to work closely with the office of the First Lady of Sierra Leone as we develop a cancer screening program and cancer center. From March 16th – April 2 a 10 member team from Greatest Goal Ministries will betraveling to Sierra Leone. One of the primary objectives will be a two week water and sanitation household survey ofa 6 mile radius surrounding the new Lady Deborah Berewa Hospital (LDBH) in Lakka in conjunction with the local chief and council members.

An additional objective will be meetings with the First Lady and her team as we progress on our discussions of expansion at the LDBH. GGM has been busy since December talking to organizations in the USA who may be able to assist in development of this joint dream to develop cancer screening and a cancer hospital.

Two medical mission trips have also been scheduled for October and December of 2013. These teams are composed of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and allied health care workers and volunteers.

We are busy trying to learn about our new community and will work with the local chief and decision makers in regard to community health education programs and services GGM may be able to assist with.

I returned from a 6 week trip to Sierra Leone in October. During that time I had arranged a meeting with Her Excellency, Sia Nyama Koroma, the First Lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

As an organization we had been praying for expansion of our free primary care clinic in Murray Town, Freetown which was opened in 2009. During conversations held earlier in spring the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) made it clear that they did not want further expansion at our clinic site. The land had become a political hotspot for the community between various council people and the widespread encroachment of businesses on the property we had been originally told we could expand upon.

We decided to go straight to the top and see if there was an existing, empty hospital building that we could move our clinic to so that our free health services for the disabled and underserved could continue without disruption but also large enough or with adjacent property that we could expand and build a cancer center on in the future. There is currently no cancer care available anywhere in Sierra Leone. To our amazement I was told by the First Lady that I was the answer to her prayer.

Three days later were given an empty building in Lakka on Peninsular Road just outside the capital city of Freetown. The former Vice-President of Sierra Leone, Mr. Solomon Berewa had built the 24 bed hospital in memory of his late wife in 2006. It had never been opened.

After 3 meetings with the First Lady and 4 meetings with the former Vice President we went to work preparing the building with painting, cleaning, and renovation to the ceiling, electrical and water. On Friday, Nov. 2 all parties, the current interim Minister of Health and Sanitation, Her Excellency Sia Nyama Koroma, Mr. Solomon Berewa and GGM had signed off on a 20 year Memorandum of Understanding with 1.5 acres of land available for a future cancer center.

The new name of our clinic/hospital is “Lady Deborah Berewa Hospital”. The doors are now open andpatients are being seen. We are excited about this collaborative effort in place with the office of the First Lady andhope to be able to report many new and exciting developments as GGM continues to strive for improved health care in Sierra Leone.

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